Let us begin with a confession: we do not understand the bag charm. We have tried. We have squinted at it. We have tilted our heads. We have given it every benefit of the doubt. And yet it remains a mystery why any adult would hang a trinket from a handbag that cost more than a used car.
But they are everywhere. There is the little jejune Hermès pony you may or may not have to purchase before being offered something nicer, which is a bit like paying for the appetizer you never wanted just to earn the right to order dinner. There are the D-I-O-R letters jangling from the Lady Dior, which, despite their impeccable pedigree, bring to mind a certain Juicy Couture sensibility. There are the toothy little Labubus that sell for startling sums and look like something that cleans toilets under a bridge. There are the Fendi monsters, the pom-poms. And of course, in decades past, the lucky rabbit's foot, which was lucky for no one, least of all the rabbit.
Women have been dangling things from their handbags for as long as this editor can remember, as if the bag were the rearview mirror of fashion. Somewhere, we are certain, a pair of fuzzy dice hangs from a Kelly, and its owner is inordinately proud.
But here’s the trouble. A beautiful bag is the sleek shark of the accessory world. The charm is its remora: a little hitchhiker that spoils the silhouette and creates drag. It not only ruins the lines. It scuffs the leather. It makes an expensive bag look measurably less expensive. And it is rarely a statement of taste so much as a public service announcement that you enjoy Hello Kitty. No one asked, darling.
Worst of all is the infantilizing effect. Picture an eye-catching woman in sharp heels, a tailored coat, and a gorgeous leather bag, the entire look pulled together with real intention, and then a plush toy swings into view. She has brought her security blanket to the board meeting. The eye notices. The mind wonders.
Are there any tasteful versions? We'll allow a silk scarf knotted neatly at the handle, and a bow that sits snugly in place has a certain polish, though whether something that doesn't dangle counts as a charm is a question for the philosophers. Everything else is a bumper sticker on a Bentley, the garish tattoo of the accessory world.
Our verdict: Déclassé.
Keep the gorgeous bag. Ditch the hitchhiker.
Now it's your turn. Give us your verdict on social media: Racé, Passé, or Déclassé?
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